American astronaut Karen Nybeg tweeted this Aug. 23 photo of Michigan and the Great Lakes from aboard the International Space Station on Oct. 13. (Courtesy Photo | Karen L. Nyberg)

Pictures of Michigan from space never get old, do they?

Last Sunday, Oct. 13, American astronaut Karen Nyberg tweeted this excellent photograph of the Great Lakes taken on Aug. 23 from her vantage point orbiting the Earth aboard the International Space Station.

She posted the image on Twitter about 4:40 p.m., generating a cascade of re-tweets. As spectacular photos are wont to do, the image has spent the meantime making rounds on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The image shows four of the five Great Lakes. The sun’s glint brightens lakes Erie and Ontario to the east, while lakes Michigan and Huron are seen in shades of deeper blue. Lake Superior and most of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are not in the frame.

The website io9, which posted about the photo under the header “space porn,” noted the novelty of seeing one fifth of the world’s fresh water in one photograph.

The bloggers over at National Geographic noted that the government shutdown did not stem the flow of spectacular cosmic photos from the camera-toting astronauts.

Beautiful from space, even more beautiful from the ground - except for a certain 134 square miles. Also the longest shoreline in the lower 48 (3,288 miles (5,292 km) and the most lighthouses, over 150. Circumnavigating and touring the lighthouses is a great trip.

Nicknames for residents:

Michigander, Michiganian, Yoopers (for those in the Upper Peninsula), Trolls (those in the Lower Peninsula - below the Mackinac Bridge.)